This blog has been created as a tool to encourage students to engage in recreational reading. Through social discussion, students gain better insight and comprehension.

3.26.2009

Hey there to all of you new to the blog!

I just wanted to write and let you know that you may write comments about any of the books you have read right here or by clinking on the comment link (nest to the pencil under the blog). I see a few of you have been checking it out but are still a little shy about commenting. Jump right in! I'm looking forward to hearing from you!

Mrs. G.

The Battle of the Labyrinth- Riordan

I read this one over Spring Break as well. I can't wait for the next Percy Jackson book! I am totally hooked on this series. The action moves underground to a contanstly changing Labyrinth (maze) that is full of monsters and traps. Percy Jackson, half-blood son of Poseidon, enters the Labyrinth with Annabeth (daughter of Athena), Tyson (a Cyclops), and satyr Grover. There, they uncover a plot to invade Camp Half-Blood. The melding of Greek myths with modern-day settings remains fresh and funny in this fourth installment, as the friends draw nearer to the foreshadowed showdown against Kronos and renegade half-blood Luke.

Titan's Curse-Riordan

This is the third book of Percy Jackson and the Olympians series. The stirring of monsters has begun. Monsters not seen for thousands of years threaten to unleash death and destruction on an unprecedented scale and destroy Olympus, and it's up to Percy Jackson and his friends Grover, Annabeth and Thalia to stop them, though Percy is embarrassed to have to depend on his mother to drive him to his battles. Percy, Annabeth and Thalia are demigods, Grover is a satyr and their quest is to find the missing Artemis and the monster she was hunting. Riordan's sense of humor and and use of pop culture makes this series a hit!

The One Where the Kid Nearly Jumps to His Death and Lands in California-Hershey

I read this book over spring break and really enjoyed it! Alastair really did nearly jump to his death and as a result his life has been changed forever. Do you think his dad hung around to see the results? No, he runs off to start a new life in California. Well now years have gone by and guess where Alastair is supposed to spend his summer. You guessed it, in California with his father who he despises. Alastair sets out to make his father as miserable as possible for all the anger and hurt he has caused over the years. It takes most of the summer and a terrible event to mend the riff between them.

3.06.2009

On the Bright Side, I'm now the Girlfriend of a Sex God: further confessions of Georgia Nicolson Rennison

On the bright side, I'm now the girlfriend of a sex god : further confessions of Georgia Nicolson - Rennison
Quirky, funny, sarcastic these three words sum up the sequel to: Angus, Thongs, and Full-Frontal Snogging. Georgia is in love with a "Sex God." He is by far the cutest guy on the planet in her eyes. So why is it that now the family has to go and travel half way around the world? Rennison is a British author who very graciously includes a glossary at the back of the book for those of us unfamiliar with her British terms. For instance, who knew that snogging means kissing?

Night of the Howling Dogs-Salisbury

Night of the Howling Dogs-Salisbury
During an Eagle Scout campout at Halape, Hawaii, eleven young man have their survival skills tested. Howling Dogs are a bad omen and the prophecy comes true when the campers first endure an earthquake and then a tsumani. This book is based on a true story.

Counting on Grace-Winthrop

Counting on Grace-Winthrop
Counting on Grace is a touching story about life for children before the child labor laws were strictly enforced. Grace is a feisty, independent young girl who captures a young photographer's eye as he is working to document how young children are forced into dangerous work situations.

Hitch-Ingold

Hitch by Jeanette Ingold
Becoming a man takes lots of work...Moss is fired from his dream job working on airplanes due to the depression so he hitches rides to try to find his father to help support the family. When he finds his father he gets really bad advice and no help so he takes a job with the CCC a jobs project in Montana. His adventures will lead him to make decisions that change other people's lives as well as his own.
Posted by cruce at 11:25 AM 0 comments

3.02.2009

39 Clues: One False Note-Korman

39 Clues: One False Note by Gordon Korman is the second book in the series. This story picks up with Dan, Amy and their au pair Nellie in Europe. The note reference in the title lets you know that music is the focus for their next clue, specifically the music of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. It is another well written adventure that keeps you looking over your shoulder for the next bad guy (or relative) as you try to help Dan and Amy fit the clues together. I like that mini history lessons that are woven into the stories as well. Did you notice the new author on this book? Book 3 is due out soon and it is also written by a different author. Interesting concept.

Singing Hands-Ray

Singing Hands by Delia Ray will appeal to anyone familiar with deafness. My older brother is deaf, which means that he can not hear a thing. I know many families such as the one described in the book.

Gussie Davis is the middle of three hearing daughters born to deaf parents. Her father is the minister at Saint Jude's Church for the Deaf. Gussie gets bored in church and starts humming, she finds this quite funny because no one else is aware of this except her sisters. She gets braver as time progresses and starts singing loudly during church services. She gets away with it until one day the church has a visitor, her father's boss, who happens to be a hearing man.

Gussie is one of those characters that you can't help but enjoy. She is ornery and can be very trying as far as her sisters are concerned but she also has a good heart.

Into the Wild- Durst

Into the Wild by Sarah Beth Durst is a wonderfully creative story that blends characters from today with characters from fairy-tales. The Wild is a fairy-tale world that has recently escaped from captivity. Characters such as Cinderella and Rapunzel, who had escaped from the wild and have been living quietly among us are now being sucked back in to their former roles. Who will rescue them and tame the Wild? The answer will surprise you.